TradeLand opens in Nashua, with closure of Cash Converters in Hudson

By SAMANTHA ALLEN

Staff Writer

NASHUA – Craig Salvucci studied a set of 3D television glasses and an older-model cellphone. He assessed their value and then posed the real question: “How much are you looking to get for everything here?”

NASHUA – Craig Salvucci studied a set of 3D television glasses and an older-model cellphone. He assessed their value and then posed the real question: “How much are you looking to get for everything here?”

After a pregnant pause, the woman laughed and said, “As much as I can get, obviously.”

It was one of the first transactions at TradeLand, a 12,600-square-foot “buy, sell and trade” shop. Salvucci recently opened the doors of the Daniel Webster Highway building after shutting down Cash Converters in Hudson after 14 years. It’s a sizable upgrade.

Salvucci is planning a grand opening for May 4, but there are hundreds of items already out for customers to browse in the warehouse-style locale. TradeLand is nearly twice the size of the old shop on Hudson’s Derry Street.

Salvucci said he is well aware of the stigma pawn shops can carry, but in his mind, that belief stems from ignorance.

“I’m not as afraid of the word ‘pawn shop’ like we were in 1997 and 1998 … It’s different now than it was then,” he said. “It seemed like a lot of the pawn shops were portrayed as preying on people’s misfortunes and trading stolen or hot merchandise … (Our typical customer) ranges across all socioeconomic lines.”

Salvucci said most of the time, people are just looking to get rid of the clutter, but the reasons for selling goods varies – children have moved out, a bachelor is looking to impress a new love interest, or an even more updated and sleek tech device has come on the market and the older version is no longer desired. Salvucci said being in the business for years, he’s learned “not to want for much” but he can see why people look to trade and shop around.

“I was intrigued, and I thought if there was a shop like that in my town, I would go there,” he said, pointing to why he ventured into the field initially, opening the Hudson shop in 1998. “We always tried to make it a place that was inviting so if your mother was walking by the front door, she wouldn’t be hesitant to walk in.”

Salviucci said pawn shops are growing in popularity, with television series bringing to light the intricacies of the business on the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” and A&E’s “Storage Wars.” Salvucci said he doesn’t buy storage lockers, where pickers purchase abandoned units and flip forgotten valuables inside, but he said he has many loyal customers who will bring in odd pickings they find at storage auctions.

As for the customers who do attempt to sell stolen property, Salvucci said he has worked with local police departments to bust “hundreds” of criminals in the last 15 years.

Capt. Bill Avery of the Hudson Police Department confirmed that Salvucci and his employees have always been “very cooperative” when it comes to catching culprits.

“We have definitely recovered a large amount of stolen property from (Cash Converters),” he said. “I think that has to do with their management.”

Aside from the typical fish, gaming and sports gear, fine jewelry, tools, musical instruments and electronics available for sale or trade, Salvucci has a few oddities in the mix.

A TradeLand employee remembered a rare hand-carved fishing reel from 1903 that brought in $400, and Salvucci said he recently sold a stylish antique typewriter for $100 that he imagined would be used for decoration or possibly theater set design.

Looking around the store, Salvucci can recount many of the stories behind his items and what drew a buyer or trader to the store in the first place. He estimated that Cash Converters drew about 700-800 customers a week.

“Every household is different. Every circumstance is a little different, but in many ways, there is a common thread that we all go out as consumers and we buy things, and we don’t always use them to the fullest and then they end up sitting around,” he said. “And if technology hasn’t made it obsolete … these things still maintain their value.”

Tradeland is located at 293 Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua. The store can be reached at 603-886-5300.

Samantha Allen can be reached at 594-6426 or sallen@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Allen on Twitter (@Telegraph_SamA).